In case you didn’t know it, this is a fantastic time to purchase a new vehicle. With programs like “Cash for Guzzlers” kicking in, you can get a super deal for your old beater, and financing deals have never been better. The government will give you a rebate if you buy certain hybrids and will take the car back if you can’t make payments, in some cases.

I never imagined that I would be so inundated by car salesmen once I announced to the world that I was in the market for a new vehicle. It’s been an avalanche of phone calls, e-mails, postcards –literally hundreds of them—all offering unprecedented deals. I feel like a high school football star being recruited by all the top colleges!

With car dealerships closing at an alarming rate, and government bailout money flying around like confetti, this is THE time to purchase a car, because car dealers are hungry for CASH right now.

Car lease trading — a way for drivers to cut their auto lease payments — is becoming more popular in the midst of the current economic uncertainty. People don’t know what’s happening tomorrow with their jobs, homes or finances, so they’re opting to get into a shorter leases with less commitment, and lease trading is a great way to do it.

Cincinnati-based Swapalease.com expects nationwide growth to be up 30 percent from last year, projecting 100,000 transactions for 2009.

Miami-based Leasetrader.com is projecting 60,000 nationwide lease transfers for 2009, up 24 percent from last year.

John Sternal, vice president of marketing and communications for Leasetrader.com, said they have a waiting list of people interested in picking up short-term leases.

“In this economy, people are really hesitant to sign up for a long-term financial commitment,” he said.

Lease trading allows a lease holder to get out of an auto lease if they can find someone to take over the monthly payments. The new owner is only responsible for the remainder of the lease contract — not a down payment like the original lessee — and can choose to purchase the car at the end of the lease.

A few years ago it seemed that cheap lease programs were available from every car manufacturer. These days, the loss of captive finance arms (like GMAC for GM which is now owned by Cerberus) and the credit crunch brought about by the financial crisis may have reduced the availability of great new-car leasing programs, but they aren’t gone completely. As an example, my local paper had an ad for a 2009 Mazda3 5-door (with automatic) for a lease payment of $219 per month for three years. This sounds like a very affordable payment for a new car, especially one as universally acclaimed as the Mazda.

I believe that there is still quite a bit of mystery surrounding auto leasing and a bit of education can go a long way. The small print in the ads is often intimidating and full of unusual terminology. Additionally, unlike traditional car loans the detailed financial terms of an auto lease don’t have to be disclosed so they usually aren’t. In order to decide whether a lease is a good deal for you or not, let’s review some basics.